Jodha's Stars (Fairy Tail and HTTYD)
by theflowermaid
Summary: Fairy Tail's beloved member Jodha Randall's death anniversary is coming up and Natsu has no idea how to tell his goddaughter Meena about the upcoming event. However, in a surprising twist of events, Natsu and Meena come across a dragon named Nikki, who sends Natsu a jolt of memories, the pain of losing Igneel and in addition, carries a mystery all on its own...


**_A/N: It's mainly Fairy Tail but honestly, I have elements of HTTYD as well XD. And...I promise I'll finish part 3 of the PPG one shot but not right now_**_**. I hardly have time **__**to**__** finish this **__**one**__** shot as is.**_

**_Also um...slight spoilers from both fandoms are in this one shot. So if you're caught up on the FT manga (especially chapter 415) and the HTTYD movies, you'll realize the feels that's about to resurface with this._**

**_With that said, enjoy! :D_**

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><p><strong>Jodha's Stars<strong>

The autumn leaves flew in the sky as the chilling temperatures of November started to drop to zero. The trees were already barren within the streets of Magnolia. Natsu's mouth curled into a smile as his five year old goddaughter Meena ran around the guild entrance with a ten year old Asuka, laughing as they both fell into a pile of already raked leaves; then they stood up and started chasing each other again. Natsu had Meena bundled up in a slightly puffy blue jacket due to how cold the temperatures have gotten. It was weird for November weather, but it didn't surprise him. Lucy had scolded him for the jacket choice, saying that Meena wouldn't be able to run around as much and Happy (unsurprisingly) had laughed at him but the last thing Natsu wanted was for Meena to get sick. In his opinion, he pretty much had prevented that from happening and Meena seemed to move around pretty easily. He started to wonder whether the scarf was too much. Then again, Meena had grabbed it out of his neck from time to time when she was two, so he guessed that she really didn't care much.

Meena stopped running and turned around as she waved at Natsu, her eyes shining bright green. He waved back as she came running towards him.

"Dad, aren't you cold?" Meena asked as she neared him. Natsu kneeled down to her height and rubbed her covered head.

"Nah, I'm fine," he replied as a sudden shiver went through his body. It felt strange to not have that warmth he had when Igneel was inside him. The scarf he had put around Meena's neck was the only thing left he had of him. Meena, however, scrutinized him even further before taking off the scale patterned scarf and throwing it around Natsu's neck. "Why...?"

"Weren't you shivering just now?" said Meena. "You always look happier with it on."

Natsu pouted. "But you don't have anything to cover your neck from freezing up."

"Dad!" Her eyes widened with her eyebrows scrunched up in annoyance as she clenched her fists and brought them up to her chest. "If it's important to you, then you should wear it!"

"Natsu, she's not going to die of hypothermia if she doesn't wear a scarf," said Asuka as she knocked him on the top of his head. Natsu winced in pain as she added, "Stop being an overprotective idiot."

"Does Mira have hot chocolate inside?" Meena shivered as she rubbed her own shoulders.

"Yeah, I think it's about time you got inside anyway." Natsu took Meena's hand and walked into the guild. The place was going at it's normal pace, with Juvia fawning over Gray, Cana getting slowly drunk with Wakaba and Macao, Happy trying to get Carla's attention and Mira handing out warm drinks to everybody.

"Oi, Meena!" Lisanna cried out when she saw them. "Lucy and I saved some hot chocolate for you. Asuka, get yours as well!"

"YAY!" Meena squealed in excitement along with Asuka and pulled her hand out of Natsu's grip as they both ran over to where Lisanna and Lucy were sitting. Walking over to them as the kids started drinking their hot chocolate, his stomach couldn't help but squirm a tiny bit as he neared Lucy. He plopped down on a chair beside Meena and asked Mira for one as well.

"The weather has gotten chilly since the leaves started falling, haven't they?" stated Mira as she handed Natsu a steaming cup.

"Yeah," agreed Natsu, "Especially in November. Temperatures like these only come out around next month."

"Well, at least we know what's in store for us."

Natsu chuckled. "Haha, yeah. Looks like it."

"Honestly," Lucy moaned, "It's been difficult getting a job because of the cold! It has to warm up a little bit!"

Meena looked up from her cup of hot chocolate, innocently directing her gaze at Lucy. "Why are you angry, Lucy?"

"What's up with you lately?" asked Natsu. "You seem to be getting more restless by the minute."

"What the hell did you expect, Natsu?!" Lucy said in a deadpan tone. "I have to pay my rent by the end of the month!"

Natsu shrugged. "...So why not take a job? We can go right now."

Lucy went pink. "W-we?" she stammered. "As in, r-right now? What about Meena?"

"Me and Mira-nee can take care of her, Luce," cut in Lisanna. "And besides, you haven't taken a job offer in three days, Natsu."

"I have my reasons for that, Lisanna," Natsu said as his head went down. "How do you tell your kid that her mum's death anniversary is coming up in a week?"

The group went deadly silent. Everyone knew how Jodha died. Hell, the incident at his house two years ago got around faster than he could punch Gray. But really, Natsu didn't feel like taking a job at the moment, nor did he know how to tell Meena that her mother's grave is at the Cathedral, right here in Magnolia. That's when suddenly, a voice called out: "Mirajane! Heard from Cana that you guys had hot chocolate!"

Looking around, they eventually spotted Hiccup Haddock and Astrid Hofferson standing at the doorway, their dragons Toothless and Stormfly dutifully behind them.

"Welcome back, you two," Mira said with a smile as she gave them each a cup. "How's Berk?"

"First off, Hiccup still has to get some of the dragons under control," said Astrid. "With Toothless becoming Alpha and everything about few years back..."

"Oh yeah, I heard about the battle with Drago." Mira glanced at Hiccup apologetically. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father. But shouldn't you be back there?"

"My mom's taking care of things while I'm gone," confirmed Hiccup, who Natsu observed, had carefully avoided the topic about his dad. "I actually came here to talk to Master Makarov."

"I'll get him out right away." Mira walked over to the swimming pool where Grandpa Makarov was (the pool was heated, so almost everyone in the guild was in it at least once). Astrid followed her as Hiccup came over to a mind-blown Natsu.

"It's been nearly five years since we last saw you guys," said Hiccup as he sat down beside Natsu, "And it still surprises me to no end that-"

"Mira and Astrid are getting along?" finished Natsu. "Yeah, I still end up thinking that Mira is going to use Satan Soul on Astrid while Astrid herself gets her axe and gets in a few hits."

"Ah, the good ol' days."

"Eh? Mira and Astrid used to fight?" Lucy's eyes widened in astonishment. "But I kinda see Astrid as an Erza type."

"Er..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Let's just say that Astrid's a little more laid back now than she used to be."

"I'm afraid to imagine what Astrid used to be like back then," said Lucy as she sweat-dropped. She then turned around and proceeded to talk to Lisanna.

"Yeah, won't blame you for that." Hiccup gazed around the guild with amusement in his eyes. He stopped as he spotted Meena and Asuka talking energetically to Wendy Marvell and the smile on his face slightly faded in a matter of seconds. "She's just like her mother," he muttered before asking, "...So how's Meena doing?"

Natsu wrenched his gaze from Lucy (which was sort of hard to do) to Meena. "She's doing well. But...can we talk outside?"

Hiccup nodded, and the two of them walked to the entrance. When the two were outside, Natsu asked the question that was sitting on his mind since he came here: "Hiccup, why are you really here?"

Hiccup bit his lip nervously. "Gezz, Natsu...is it me, or have you grown really perspective these days..."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu smirked. "You try taking care of Meena for a day."

"Well, that's one way." They were both quiet for a long period of time. Hiccup eventually cleared his throat and asked: "Does Meena know? About-"

"No." Natsu shook his head. "Not yet. I'll explain everything to her in a week."

"What?!" Hiccup cried out. "You still haven't told her? Are you crazy?"

"Hiccup, she's only five years old!"

"Natsu, I thought I lost my mom when I was a baby, only to find her alive twenty years later! If Meena's old enough to know that her parents are dead, then I think she's old enough to know when her mother's death anniversary is."

Natsu, surprised by Hiccup's sudden outburst, sighed and changed the subject. "Oh fine. I'll tell her soon as possible. There's something else I have been meaning to ask you though."

Hiccup relaxed a little bit, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "What's that?"

"...What exactly happened to your dad?"

Hiccup went silent as shadows appeared across his face. Crossing his arms a minute later, he said, "I think the entire guild has heard about Drago by now." He pulled his head up, his green eyes facing Natsu. "By the way, I heard you found Igneel."

Natsu let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Yeah, only to lose him to Acolnogia about an hour later."

"Sorry about that, man."

"Hey, at least we're even, in terms of dead parents. And besides..." Natsu pulled his head up to the sky as the birds flew against the sunset. "...In a way, he has watched me grow up. I can only hope that Meena will still have a father in the future."

"Of course she will, Natsu. Please don't start beating yourself up about what will happen in the future."

"But-"

"Natsu," Hiccup countered firmly, "I get what you're feeling but Fairy Tail's the only home Meena knows. You _can't_ start dwelling on what would happen if you aren't there to take care of her."

As he saw the unconvincing look in Natsu's eyes, he added, "Look, you're a part of Meena's life as much as she's a part of yours. Whatever happens in the future, happens. Just live in the present with your goddaughter as much as you can. Got it?"

Natsu nodded slowly. "Yeah. I got it."

He patted Natsu on the shoulder. "Good."

"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice hollered, "Come on, we better get going before the Snotlout and the twins start causing chaos again! You know perfectly well how Gobber reacted last time!"

"Oh gods, I gotta go." Hiccup ran over to Astrid and Toothless, but before reaching them, he turned around and yelled, "Remember what I said, Natsu! I will stop by and see how you're doing!"

"Alright!" He hollered back as Hiccup and Astrid took off on their respective dragons.

After saying goodbye to everyone in the guild for the day, Natsu, Meena and Happy walked home as quickly as they could with the temperature dropping faster than he could run. Natsu had forced Meena to wear the scarf again until they got home and she was still running around in a energized state, the cold not exactly bothering her at all.

"I'm still not gonna get over the jacket choice, Natsu," snickered Happy.

"Shut up, will you?!" Natsu retorted. Then, realizing that he may have reacted a little too harshly, said in a much softer tone: "I'm not in the mood."

Happy stopped snickering and gave Natsu a concerned look. "What's going on, Natsu? Are you still worried about-"

Happy was interrupted when a strange rustling sound came from the bushes. Natsu immediately looked for Meena and saw that she was five feet away from him. She had stopped running as well with a mix of fear and curiosity on her face, and slowly backed up to where Natsu and Happy were standing. Relieved, Natsu took her hand and looked around to see where it was coming from.

"Who's there?"

The rustling got louder and louder and Nastu lit up his free hand just as it stopped. A low growl that was reminded him of a dragon made itself heard from behind them. Happy turned around and proceeded to jump in shock.

"What the heck is a Night Fury doing here?" Happy cried out as he went plummeting down to the ground.

"What?!" Natsu slowly turned around to spot a Night Fury sitting calmly in front of them. Making sure Meena was safely behind him, he proceeded to slowly inch his way towards the dragon. Something about it made it seem non-threatening and also reminded him of Hiccup's dragon, Toothless.

The dragon immediately backed away a few steps from Natsu. However the minute Meena peeked out from behind him, the dragon stopped and eyed her curiously. A jolt of pain was sent to his heart as he peered into the Night Fury's eyes. It was strangely reminiscent of..._no..._But how?

As he was in deep thought about why a dragon was here of all places (in fact, the only dragons that existed lived far from Fiore) it took him a moment to realized that Meena wasn't behind him anymore and was nearing the dragon.

"Meena!" whispered Happy, "What are you doing?!"

"Oi, Meena!" Natsu hissed as he walked over to Meena. "Come back here, it might be dangerous!"

Meena stopped and turned around. "But why? She seems safe enough."

This made Natsu stop dead in his tracks. _"She?"_

Meena nodded. "Can't you tell by her eyes?"

Natsu shared a confused look with Happy and got closer to Meena. The dragon came nearer as well and nudged Meena lightly. Natsu put out his hand ever so slightly but enough to near the dragon's snout. It was weird, but he could have sworn that he saw the dragon nod it's consent. Then, suddenly out of nowhere, the dragon licked Meena, who laughed in delight and hugged her by the neck.

"Dad, can we keep her?" she begged. "Pleeeeasse?"

"Meena..." Natsu trailed off as she made the puppy dog face he was finding harder and harder to say no to. Considering that her mother's death anniversary was coming up in a few days, he really didn't have the heart to tell her that there's little to no room and take that smile off her face. But then again, she didn't know yet...

At the Night Fury's back, he saw a saddle that indicated that she already belonged to somebody else. He stood up and walked over to the edge of the saddle as he made out a name stitched in black. Taking a closer look, the name in swiggly lines said: _Nikki._

He sighed in defeat. "Meena...are you sure about this?"

Meena smiled widely in return.

For the next few days, whenever Meena came home from the guild, she always played around with Nikki, always happy with a spark in her green eyes. During those few days, Natsu often wondered how long it'll be before the owner picks up the dragon. But as Nikki's owner was the least of his problems, he got some flowers ready to take to Jodha's grave two days before her death anniversary, getting more and more agitated as to how to take a five year old to a graveyard. When he came back from Wendy's house, he found Nikki sleeping on the front porch. The minute he got near the steps, Nikki opened her eyes and gazed at Natsu, sending yet another jolt of memories and pain to his heart. Looking deeper, he finally realized who she belonged to.

"You're looking for Jodha...aren't you?"

Nikki purred and nudged her snout against his hand, confirming Natsu's suspicions. He sat down beside the Night Fury and started scrathing her by the ears. "Y'know...you're a long way from England. You must really care for her if you're all the way here..."

Nikki purred again in agreement. _She must have thought that Meena was Jodha, _Natsu thought to himself. In a way, he couldn't blame her. When Meena came to the guild to live with him, that's the first thought that came to mind. Later on, he figured that distiguishing between Jodha and Meena was almost close to impossible. Anyone would know that it's her daughter on the first glance. At first, Natsu thought that he saw Igneel in Nikki's eyes. But he realized that during the walk home, the reason why he saw Igneel was because his conversation with Hiccup was still fresh in his mind. And he eventually came to the conclusion that Hiccup had a point: he couldn't keep Meena from her mother's grave forever.

With dread filling up inside him, he asked Nikki, "How long are going to keep looking for her?"

Nikki looked up at him with her wide eyes and Natsu sighed again, already knowing her answer.

Giving a small and pained smile, he said, "Oh, Meena's gonna be devastated. Well, if you're going away at some point...at least come back and give a visit...Nikki."

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><p>It was the day before Jodha's death anniversary and almost everyone had payed their respects at the grave beforehand. Natsu still hadn't told Meena yet and Lucy had screamed at him for five minutes straight before Lisanna and Wendy calmed her down.<p>

"Natsu, it's going to be alright," Lucy said soothingly. "I'm pretty sure Meena can handle this."

"Funny, that's exactly what Hiccup said when he came to visit."

Lisanna sighed. "She's a mature kid, especially for her age. Luce has a point. Meena can take seeing her mother at the Cathedral."

"But at the same time, is it the right time to let her know about it?"

A uncomfortable silence filled the group as he said this. Nobody knew what to say to that. Natsu himself had no answer. He then felt a softer hand on his, which turned out to be Lucy.

"Natsu, I know the experience will probably cause her pain. But...don't you think it's better to get it over with now instead of waiting a few more years?"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know, Lucy. What do you think is the best option?"

Lucy rustled his hair and nodded. "It's up to you, Natsu. But if it were up to me, I think that you should tell her."

He gazed intensely at Lucy for a while, trying to absorb what she said. Maybe she was right. Lucy knew the pain of losing her parents. She knew the pain more than anybody, even Natsu himself. And that's when it all became clear for him. He made his decision. In the end, it wouldn't matter what pain it caused. If it molded Meena into a better person, then so be it. Looking away, he stood up and quietly walked to the entrance back to his house. However, when he got back home, he didn't expect to see Meena sitting on the front porch, crying her eyes out. Happy was right beside her, trying to console her to no avail. Happy saw him by the tree, and flew over to him.

"Happy, what's going on?" Natsu asked the minute Happy reached him.

"The dragon, Natsu," Happy replied sorrowfully. "She's gone."

Natsu froze. "What?"

Happy nodded. "She left right after you dropped off Meena. There's something at the back of the house though."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Happy flew over to the back of the house as Natsu followed him. When he reached the back, he saw a huge burnt area in the vauge shape of a heart.

_Night Furies truly are intelligent,_ thought Natsu. Then again, most dragons were. Sighing in slight remorse, he walked back to the porch and sat down beside Meena, pulling her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. How the hell was he going to tell Meena about the anniversary tomorrow in this state?

"Calm down, Meena," he said soothingly. "Everything will be alright."

Meena still kept sobbing. "Dad...how did you feel when you found out that mum was dead?"

Natsu didn't answer and pulled Meena closer. A minute later, she also asked him: "Did you see mummy in Nikki's eyes?"

He shook his head. "No...she wasn't the only one."

Meena sniffed. "What do you mean by that?"

Natsu hesitated. Ever since Igneel died, he often felt that gaping hole inside him._ A __broken__ promise. His will to __show__ the way of the future. _"Your grandfather...my dad..."

"The one who was a dragon?"

"Eh?!" Happy cried out and Natsu jumped. He had completely forgotten that Happy was there. "How did you know about that?!"

"Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing," said a utterly shocked Natsu.

"Asuka and Erza told me something about Tartarus."

Shadows casted across their faces as their souls escaped their bodies. "Is-is t-that so..." They both stammered out in a deadpan voice.

Meena smiled sadly and wiped her leftover tears. "I already knew how much the scarf meant to you, Dad. Igneel gave it to you, didn't he?"

Natsu nodded stiffly. He did not want to start crying again. "Yeah, he did," he answered as he wiped a tear at the corner of his eye. _Well, it __was__ now or never. _"Speaking of which, Meena...tomorrow, is your mum's death anniversary."

Meena turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Natsu..." Happy trailed off but Natsu cut him off. "I'll deal with this. Please go put something on the stove."

"Aye." Happy flew into the house as Natsu saw the lights go on.

"Dad, do you know where her grave-"

"It's at the Cathedral." He put a hand on her head as he added, "Do you wanna come with me tomorrow?"

Meena leaned against him and nodded. Nastu smiled and looked up at the stars. Then he got an idea...one that might work for himself as well.

"Meena," Natsu started to say, "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

Meena looked up and squinted her eyes as though there was something deeper in them. Finally, she just said, "All I see are stars, Dad."

"You got that right," laughed Natsu. "Now, here's what I want you to do: whenever you feel lonely, just look up at the sky and always remember that your mum is always watching. Always listening. Even though she can't dry your tears, she'll be still there, like a warm glow."

"So...mum turned into the stars above?"

"Er...more or less. But she is up there. The ones that love us, Meena, never really leave us. It's up to us to acknowledge that they're with us...wherever we are."

"I'll be sure to remember, Dad," said Meena as she yawned. "I'll be sure to..." She fell asleep with a smile on her face and her head against Natsu's arm two minutes later.

Natsu's heart also felt considerably lighter that night. With the heavy conscience of telling Meena about the grave off his back, he was able to sleep in peace. The next day, the two of them were at the Cathedral in front of Jodha's grave. While Natsu brought flowers to the grave, Meena brought Jodha's favorite snack: a slice of strawberry cake she made with Erza earlier during the day.

_"Dad, what was mum's favorite snack?" _Natsu remembered Meena asking him while he was tucking her in bed. He was completely thrown off by the question.

_"...It was strawberry cake, just like Erza," _he had replied in a confused manner._ "Why?"_

_"Really? Then can we give Erza a visit? I want to bring something of mum's when we go over to the grave tommorow and I want Erza to help me." _

_"But why can't I help you?!"_

_"Dad, you spalttered cake all over the house last time!" _

Natsu pouted. _"Okay fine. I'll take you over to Erza's place tommorow." _

Meena put the plate beside the grave. "I brought you some cake, mummy," she said with a smile. "Dad told me that you and Erza shared the same favorite snack, so I went over to her house and made some cake. I hope there's tons of food up there so that you don't go hungry. Happy always said..."

While Meena continued to talk to her mother's grave, Natsu felt sudden movement. Looking around, he finally spotted someone with long and silky black hair blowing across her beautiful features in a white dress with wings. Her eyes were glowing bright green one minute and then dark blue the next. Natsu immediately recognized who it was.

"Jodha..." he whispered so that Meena didn't here him. Jodha was smiling brightly at him and waved her hand. Her lips formed the words,_ "Thank you, Natsu." _

Natsu smiled back and nodded. No tears came flooding towards his eyes this time, but rather the vague feeling of happiness of seeing one of his best friends again. She slowly dissolved into thin air as she continued waving at him.

"No, Jodha..." he trailed off as he looked up at the orange sky. "Thank you...for everything."

He knew that she would be watching over them, just as Igneel was watching him continue down the path of the unknown.

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><p><em><strong>AN: I'll admit: I was sobbing when I wrote this entire thing. The new Fairy Tail manga chapter had me crying since Monday, so don't blame me for the feels that I have caused. **_

_**Also, for those of you reading these one shots, go check of the fanfic that these one shots are based off, Mysterious Fates!**_

_**See you later!**_


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